


Brotherly Bonding

by jesus-otaku (amiraculousladybug)



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Card Games, Gen, Mario Kart, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Platonic Relationships, Unexpected Visitors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 07:34:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6557521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiraculousladybug/pseuds/jesus-otaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All Britain wanted to do was spend a peaceful evening at home reading. Then America had to show up. AND he brought friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brotherly Bonding

Britain knew he was in for a long evening as soon as the doorbell started ringing over and over again. Nobody other than America ever rang more than once, and certainly nobody else rang it so much in such a short amount of time. Britain counted at least twenty-three rings by the time he had crossed from his living room to the door. “Good evening, America,” he greeted his little brother, doing his best to be polite. So much for a night of peaceful reading.

“Hey, Britain dude!” America greeted him in reply. As usual, his voice was obnoxiously loud and enthusiastic, and Britain had to resist the urge to clap his hands over his ears. America's face was stretched into a huge grin. “Thought you might want to hang out tonight! I brought these guys, too!” He jerked a thumb back over his shoulder to indicate a country whose name Britain couldn't quite remember, as well as none other than France.

If Britain had been drinking tea at the moment, he would have choked on it. “Me? 'Hang out' with the _frog?_ Are you out of your bloody mind?”

“Oh, come, Britain, don't be like that,” France said with an airy laugh. His blue eyes glimmered tauntingly. “It will be good time for brotherly bonding with America and Canada.”

Canada! So _that_ was the name of the blond, bespectacled man hanging at the back of the group. Yes, of course. How could he have been so foolish as to forget? He had fought with France over Canada once just like they had fought over America. Granted, it hadn't been nearly as long of a fight as the one over America, but still. He ought to have remembered.

Britain sighed. Putting up with France was going to be one massive headache, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt to spend time with America and his brother. “Oh, all right then,” he consented. He moved aside so they could come through the door. “But only for a little while. I have a meeting with my boss in the morning.”

“Awesome!” America pumped his fist in the air. “Time to par-tay! Who's up for a round of Mario Kart?” He came inside and pulled a brightly colored video game out from his pocket.

Letting him in had been a terrible mistake, Britain realized.

France was easily beaten at America's racing game—no surprises there. Britain, unable to figure out how to use the buttons on the controller, was also beaten quickly. Both of them elected to sit back and watch Canada race America, since neither of them felt like being defeated again in a multiplayer race.

“Come on! Me 'n Canada versus you guys!” America pleaded. “It'll be fun!”

“You'd win in no time flat,” Britain pointed out. He heard the kettle whistling from the kitchen and went to fetch it; he had put it on for a cup of tea while America had been racing France. “I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch,” he added as he poured the boiling water into one of his many teacups. “Does anybody else want tea?”

There was a general murmur of “no”s from the other room.

Britain shrugged. “Suit yourselves.” He returned to the room, teacup and saucer in hand, just in time for America and Canada's race to start. Britain wasn't sure which cartoony figure was being used by whom, so he sat back and watched both.

“Avenge us, Canada!” France cheered from beside Britain on the couch.

“I'm trying,” Canada whimpered. “But every time I catch up …” He cut off. One of the characters had just been struck from behind by some kind of turtle shell, sending both character and vehicle flying off the track. Canada sighed. “… That happens,” he finished.

“Run over the cube!” France pointed frenetically at a floating cube on the race track. “The cube, Canada, the cube!”

“Okay!” As soon as his character had been resituated on the track, Canada sent them forward to collect whatever was in the cube.

“Hey, Britain, dude, how about some cheering for the hero?” America remarked as he leaned wildly to one side to direct his character around a sharp curve.

Britain took a sip of his tea. “You seem to be doing fine without it.”

No sooner had he said this than a flying blue object struck America's car and sent him careening off the race track. “Dude, what the crap?” America demanded. Then he turned to glare at Canada, whose character was now in first place. “How could you do that? I thought we were brothers!”

Canada didn't take his eyes off the screen. “It's just a game, America.”

“Game nothing! I have to avenge myself now! Nobody steals first place from the hero!” America's character was placed back on the track, and he zoomed after Canada without heed for the hazards in the road.

“All I did was hit you with a blue shell. Relax.” Canada's character zoomed across the finish line, and America let out a frustrated wail.

“'All I did,' he says!” he exclaimed, gesturing dramatically to the screen. “No fair, man! I had that one in the bag!”

Canada rolled his eyes and moved over to the couch. “Who's next?”

Of course, neither France nor Britain was inclined to race America again, and so Canada was stuck playing another several rounds of Mario Kart to silence America's wheedling. America, for his part, was determined to get Canada back for the blue shell attack and was driving through every question mark cube he could find. More than once, Canada was hit by a flying green shell or was sent spiraling thanks to banana peels scattered across the road.

“Well, since those two are busy … ” Britain got up from the couch to grab a deck of cards. “How about a game of Old Maid?”

He was surprised when his suggestion earned him a genuine smile from France. “For once, your idea doesn't sound half bad.” France cleared a space on Britain's coffee table and gestured for him to shuffle the deck.

The illusion of peace didn't last long.

Which wasn't surprising to anyone.

“You can't have a pair of matching queens!” France snapped.

“Yes I bloody well can, you frog!” Britain snapped back. “They're right there in front of you!”

“I put down a pair of queens five minutes ago! You can't have another pair of queens! Where's the old maid if they're all paired up?” France gesticulated wildly at his pile of paired-up cards, where there were indeed two queens.

“What the hell are you talking about? The joker is the old maid, everyone knows that!”

“What kind of idiotic rule is that? The joker is a wild card! It can't be an old maid!”

“Says who?”

“Says the rules!”

“The joker is a wild card, so it can be whatever I damn want it to be! And I say it's the old maid!”

“As if!” France scoffed. “Canada, help me prove this idiot wrong—” He cut himself off as they both turned to America and Canada and realized the other two had fallen asleep at their game controllers.

Britain looked at the clock and sighed. “It's almost one in the morning. No wonder they're asleep.” He stood and went to fetch a quilt, which he laid over the pair sleeping on the floor. They barely stirred. Britain took their glasses off so they wouldn't get dirty or be crushed, setting them on the table. “I suppose it would be cruel to wake them up and send them home this late at night …”

“Damn right it would,” France muttered under his breath.

Britain pretended not to hear him. “So it's only good manners to invite you to stay as well. There's a guest room upstairs you can use. Don't wake me up before eight or it will be your neck.”

France grinned. “Whatever you say, _mon ami_.”

 


End file.
